Search This Blog

Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Series Preview: New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays (5/19-5/21)

The first-place
Yankees are fresh off a series win against the Kansas City Royals and will
continue their road trip by traveling to St. Petersburg to face off against the
fourth-place Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees come into the series at 24-14 and sit on top
of the standings, but are 5-5 in their last ten games. Other than CC Sabathia’s
outing in Kansas City, starting pitching has been ineffective for the Bombers
and it will need to be improved upon against the Rays. The Rays are 21-22 and
are coming off of two series wins in Boston and Cleveland, so they will look to
continue their momentum on their seven-game home stand. The Yankees are 4-2 against
the Rays this season including a sweep in New York that was a part of their eight-game
winning streak early in the season. However, despite their subpar record,
the Rays always tend to play the Yankees tough and make every game competitive,
which should lead to a quality series.

GAME ONE (Friday, May 19 | First Pitch:
7:10 PM ET)

Luis Severino (2-2 3.86 ERA) vs Erasmo
Ramirez (2-0 2.92 ERA)

TV: WPIX, Fox Sports Sun

Photo Credit: New York Daily News

The first game
of this three-game series will feature Luis Severino and Erasmo Ramirez.
Severino has been very solid this season, but he easily had his worst outing of
the young season his last time out. He lasted only two innings and forced a
heavy workload on the bullpen. Severino dominated the Rays his last outing,
however, as he struck out eleven Rays over seven innings of work. This is a
prime opportunity for Severino to get back on track against a Rays offense that
is known for striking out a ton. The Rays projected starters have combined to
go 14-for-61 in their careers against Luis Severino with a whopping twenty-four strikeouts.

The Rays are sending
swingman Erasmo Ramirez to the mound to face off against Severino. Ramirez has
pitched mostly in relief this season, but in his one start, he pitched four
shutout innings against a potent Baltimore Orioles offense. The Yankees
historically do not hit Ramirez well, as they are hitting .213 against him as a
team, including Chase Headley who is 2-for-20. Ramirez took a no-hitter into
the eighth against the Bombers in September of 2015, however the new look
offense should fare better against the crafty righty. Ramirez has not pitched
to great length yet this season, so it will not be surprising to see the
bullpen be a big factor in this game for the Rays.

GAME TWO (Saturday, May 20 | First Pitch:
4:10 PM ET)

Masahiro Tanaka (5-2 5.80 ERA) vs Matt
Andriese (3-1 3.18 ERA)

TV: YES, Fox Sports Sun

Game two will
feature the Yankees’ ace Masahiro Tanaka try to redeem himself after arguably
his worst performance in his MLB career on none other than Derrek Jeter Night. This
game will be played in a dome, because it is Tropicana Field, but Tanaka has
not fared well in day games this season. In three starts he has an insanely
high ERA of 17.36 and has pitched only nine innings. To add insult to injury,
he has a 23.63 ERA on turf fields. The long ball has been his downfall this
season, so his key to bouncing back on his horrific outing will be to keep the
Rays in the ballpark. Brad Miller has three home runs against Tanaka in his
career.

Matt Andriese will
pitch for the Rays on Saturday. Andriese has been a pleasant surprise for the Rays
this season as his ERA is currently a run lower than his career average.
Right-handed hitters are hitting one hundred points higher versus Andriese than
lefties, so the Yankees right-handed batters will need to score on Andriese
early, as it is uncertain which Masahiro Tanaka will show up to the mound
that day. Andriese was also the pitcher who allowed the first career home runs
to Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge.

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Newsday

GAME THREE (Sunday, May 21 | First Pitch:
1:10 PM ET)

CC Sabathia (3-2 4.93 ERA) vs Chris
Archer (3-2 3.70 ERA)

TV: YES, Fox Sports Sun

Game three could
be viewed as a lopsided pitching matchup. CC Sabathia, who outside of three
terrific starts, has been dismal this season. Sabathia pitched beyond expectations
in game one of the series against the Royals, but despite putting up quality
numbers, he was hit hard for much the night, which is very alarming. Sabathia will
need to continue to locate his pitches well and change speeds in order to contain
a Rays lineup that has had success against him in the past. Evan Longoria is
30-for-73 with seven home runs and twice as many walks as strikeouts in his career versus Sabathia. Kevin
Kiermaier, Tim Beckham, Logan Morrison, and Steven Souza Jr. all have career
averages of .375 or better against the veteran southpaw.

The ace of the
Rays, Chris Archer, has pitched better this season than his 3.70 ERA suggests,
as a few poor starts have inflated his ERA. Archer pitched seven strong innings
on opening day against New York, but the Yankees have had success against
Archer in the past. Jacoby Ellsbury and Starlin Castro are hitting .514 and .467
respectively against the Rays’ ace. The offense is going to need to work the
count and try to prevent Archer from going deep into the game in order to win
this matchup. With Sabathia on the mound this could be a tough game for the
Bombers.

Players to
watch: Yankees

Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances
was recently named the closer with Aroldis Chapman being placed on the disabled
list with shoulder troubles. No one doubts his ability or his pure stuff as he
is one of the game’s premier relievers, however, he has had his struggles in
the ninth inning role. Whether it is the pressure of pitching the ninth or
another mental distraction, Betances needs to prove to the baseball world he is
capable of shutting the door in the last inning and further strengthen his
reputation as an elite relief pitcher.

Chris Carter

Chris Carter’s
days of playing every day could become very numbered with Greg Bird and Tyler
Austin eventually returning from their respective injuries and Matt Holliday
showing he is capable of playing first. Carter is striking out at an alarming
rate, which is normal for his style play of play, however, his current home run
rate is well below what he is used to. Without the power, Carter is an extreme liability
in an electric Yankees lineup. Carter needs to start either hitting more
consistently or hitting more home runs if he wants to continue donning
pinstripes.

Photo Credit: Steven Ryan/Newsday

The rest of the Yankees right-handed
hitters

The Yankees
quartet of right-handed hitters have been destroying the baseball as of late
and will need to continue doing so against a Rays team that features quality
pitching. Aaron Judge, Starlin Castro, Matt Holliday, and Gary Sanchez all need
to continue contributing in order to back up the starting pitching, which has
been subpar as of late. Yankees fans have been happy with Sanchez in particular
since his disabled list return, however, he has still yet to discover his home
run stroke that astonished all of baseball last summer. This series could be
the return of El Kraken’s reign of dominance.

Players to watch: Rays

Evan Longoria

Evan Longoria
does not need a stat or a breakdown to advocate why he is being labeled as a
player to watch in a Yankees vs. Rays series. He is the face of the franchise
and has been a Yankee killer over the course of his entire career. He started
off the season strong, but after missing a few games due to an injury, he has cooled
off. A series against the Yankees is the cliché opportunity for him to heat up
and put up some big offensive numbers especially against CC Sabathia, who he
has absolutely owned in his career.

Corey Dickerson

Corey Dickerson
was acquired from the Rockies in the previous offseason to be a sparkplug for
the Rays’ offense. While he hit twenty-four homers, his .300 career average he
had in Colorado was not sustained for the Rays. He has turned that around this
season as he is hitting .335 with nine home runs in the early going. The Yankees
will need to pitch to Dickerson carefully or he will put runs on the
scoreboard. Dickerson has hit .375 in his career against Tanaka.

Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY SPORTS

Chris Archer

The Yankees have
been one of the best offensive teams in the American League. Their issue so
far, however, has been hitting quality pitchers. Dallas Keuchel, Lance
McCullers, and Danny Duffy have all quieted the offense over the past week and
Chris Archer will be another test for the offense. Archer has elite strikeout
potential, so the Yankees will either need to attack first-pitch strikes early
or work the count and not bite at his off-speed offerings.

This series
could go very well for the Yankees as they are avoiding Jake Odorizzi and Blake
Snell who have had success against the Yankees in the past. If the offense
stays hot and the starting pitching gets back on track, this could easily be a
series win for New York or possibly a sweep if the Yankees find a way to
effectively attack Chris Archer on Sunday. The Yankees should not take any of
these games lightly, however, as the Rays are never an easy opponent for the Bombers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular from this Month

Opening
day is quickly approaching and the excitement surrounding the Yankees heading
into 2018 is at an all-time high. With the addition of Giancarlo Stanton to
what was already a powerhouse of a lineup, the Yankees are once again a World
Series or bust club. Expectations that George Steinbrenner lived by year in and
year out when he was as at the helm. The Yankees are obviously no stranger to
these expectations. They are well deserved considering it’s hard to imagine the
Yankees not making the postseason in 2018 with the product they will put on the
field. Here are five bold predictions that could be the difference between the
Yankees being a solid contending team or being far and away the best team in
baseball.

With
spring training games just eleven days away, opening day of the regular season will
be here in the blink of an eye. When camp starts, there will be approximately sixty
players vying for 25 spots on the Yankees major league roster. While some of
them are extreme longshots and others are merely prospects garnering some experience,
there will be a plethora of competition in Yankees camp this spring. Despite the
roster not lacking superstars and veterans, there are holes in the roster that
need to be filled. In this article, I will predict who will be in the dugout on
opening day alongside Aaron Boone and his new coaching staff.

With spring training set to begin, the Yankees have
openings at 2B and the hot corner. Speculation is high that two of
the organization’s most highly regarded prospects are going to win those jobs.
This article isn't about the second base opening; it’s about Miguel Andujar and
why he should be the starting third baseman when Opening Day arrives.

The Bronx Bomber Ball team is gearing up for the 2018 season by reviewing all the players on the 40-man roster. Here we look at where the player stands and what the 2018 season could mean for them. The first installment of the 2018 BBB Pinstripe Preview is former New York top prospect, Clint Jackson Frazier.

Along
with being Yankee enthusiasts, the staff here at the BBB is comprised of avid
baseball fans across the entirety of the sport. With that being said, we
decided to complete a mock Hall of Fame voting using the 2018 candidates.
Similar to the official voting, our ballots could only comprise of up to ten
candidates, but choosing less than ten candidates was surely an option. Any
player with a mark above 75% would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame,
if the voting rested in our hands. Here are the results of the sixteen ballots casted:

It's been a very slow going off-season Yankee fans the hot stove is more like the cold stove. Yesterday Ben Badler (Baseball America) broke the news that the New York Yankees are one of three teams (Texas and Miami) considered to be the favorites to sign top Cuban prospect outfielder Julio Pablo Martinez who's said to be 21-years-old.

In
today’s installment of the Bronx Bomber Ball 2018 Pinstripe Previews, we will
be looking at rookie infielder Tyler Wade. Wade was brought up last season
after an injury landed Starlin Castro on the disabled list for a large portion
of the summer. After a subpar first impression in the majors, Wade will go into
spring training fighting for a spot in the Yankees' open infield.

As part of the BBB’s ongoing lead-up to the 2018 Major League Baseball season we are previewing each member of the Yankees’ 40-man roster. Today’s preview features a new Yankee who has not yet donned the pinstripes, that being 28-year-old outfielder Jabari Blash.

2017 Review:Acquired from San Diego in the December trade that sent third baseman Chase Headley and RHP Bryan Mitchell to the Padres, Blash is another imposing outfield specimen in the New York outfield that already includes monstrous sluggers Aaron Judge and 2017 National League Most Valuable Player Giancarlo Stanton. Blash comes in at 6’5”, 235 pounds.

Blash appeared in 61 games for the Padres in 2017 and produced a slash line of .213/.333/.341 with five home runs and 16 runs batted in over 164 at-bats. Certainly nothing mind-blowing, and nothing that indicates he’ll be a major factor for the Yankees next season, but he has raw ability and a huge frame that resembles an Aaron Hicks-Aaron Judge hybrid.

This
week five years ago, a Yankees legend made the decision to bid farewell to the
game he loved after a remarkable career.
On January 24th, 2012, longtime Yankees catcher Jorge Posada
announced at a press conference that he had played his final game in
pinstripes. Posada had given his heart and soul to the game, but the aging
catcher simply had nothing left in the tank. For Yankees fans everywhere, this
was a somber day. Posada’s retirement
effectively made Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera the last active members of the ‘Core
Four’ that had brought five World Series championships to the Bronx.